Definition

VMware kernel personality subsystem vulnerability

oval:org.mitre.oval:def:7826

The personality subsystem in the Linux kernel before 2.6.31-rc3 has a PER_CLEAR_ON_SETID setting that does not clear the ADDR_COMPAT_LAYOUT and MMAP_PAGE_ZERO flags when executing a setuid or setgid program which makes it easier for local users to leverage the details of memory usage to (1) conduct NULL pointer dereference attacks (2) bypass the mmap_min_addr protection mechanism or (3) defeat address space layout randomization (ASLR).